Amid Criticism from Prosecutors, Minister Chu Says "Uncomfortable Truths Must Continue Until Faced"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Amid ongoing criticism from frontline prosecutors against Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, the minister has indicated that she will not back down from the current prosecution reform process.

On the evening of the 31st, Minister Choo shared an article from a media outlet on Facebook, stating, "Uncomfortable truths must continue. Until we face them without turning away. Even I did not realize it was this serious."

The reporter pointed out in the article that prosecutor Lee Hwan-woo of Jeju District Prosecutors' Office, who had publicly criticized Minister Choo's exercise of investigative command and inspection rights, has not responded to articles dealing with allegations against himself. The reporter wrote, "Prosecutor Lee Hwan-woo, who showed determination by saying 'prosecution reform is fundamentally flawed' against Minister Choo, has yet to respond to the reporter."

Minister Choo's statement that day came after Kim Yong-min, director of Peace Tree, shared the article titled 'Prosecutor Lee Hwan-woo has no response to the reporter' on his Facebook, which Minister Choo then reshared.

Earlier, on the 28th, Prosecutor Lee posted on the prosecution's internal network a criticism of Minister Choo's prosecution reform, saying, "I want to evaluate it as a fundamental failure." In response, Minister Choo posted the next day, "Good. If you come out like this, reform is the only answer," along with a link to a news article about Prosecutor Lee from last year.

Meanwhile, on the 29th, Prosecutor Choi Jae-man of Chuncheon District Prosecutors' Office also posted a critical message titled "I will come out too" on the prosecution's internal network, and supportive comments continue to be posted on this message.